Show Notes

Air Date: 3/22/2022

The Pandemic Has Made PR and Marketing More Important Than Ever

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world as we know it. The world of marketing was no different: Our new normal was a challenging one for marketers to navigate.

According to one survey from the World Federation of Advertisers, more than 80% of large advertisers deferred their advertising campaigns. And nearly 60% of survey respondents had decreased their budgets “somewhat” or “greatly.”

From Airbnb to Coca-Cola and Visa, some of America’s most recognizable brands showed that even they were not immune to a pandemic.

But it was not the time to give up. Where there is crisis, there is also opportunity. The most innovative, forward-thinking companies still found ways to promote their brands to consumers.

Especially because sales representatives had less face time with prospective clients and customers, the onus was on marketers to fill that void and add value. Take your local car dealerships: Due to showroom closures, the traditional salesperson had been replaced by the online marketer, who leveraged email newsletters and social media outreach to reach consumers. Jack Hollis, who markets Toyota cars in North America, said early on in the pandemic, “If you currently have a dealership that’s been selling maybe 10% of its sales through an online system, maybe now it goes to a third.”

Continue reading here.

 

The article read in this episode originally appeared on the Forbes Agency Council CommunityVoice™ in June 2020.

 

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